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Technical Session I: Market Drivers

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Space Science and Applications has initiated a new component of the Explorer Program to provide research opportunities characterized by small, quick turn-around, and frequent space missions. The objective is to launch one to two payloads per year, depending on mission cost and availability of funds and launch vehicles. The first Small Explorer Announcement of Opportunity, released in May 1988, invited proposals in Astrophysics, Space Physics, and Upper Atmospheric Science disciplines. From the 51 proposals received, four missions were selected for flight. The initial flight missions described in this paper, in order of tentative launch date, are: the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX): the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS); the Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST); and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). Future NASA plans for the Small Explorer program include issuing an Announcement of Opportunity every few years and selecting only the investigations that can be launched within a three year period. Some enhancement of launch vehicle capability and certain procedural changes for mission proposals are also anticipated.

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Sep 26th, 11:30 AM

NASA'S Initial Flight Missions in the Small Explorer Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Space Science and Applications has initiated a new component of the Explorer Program to provide research opportunities characterized by small, quick turn-around, and frequent space missions. The objective is to launch one to two payloads per year, depending on mission cost and availability of funds and launch vehicles. The first Small Explorer Announcement of Opportunity, released in May 1988, invited proposals in Astrophysics, Space Physics, and Upper Atmospheric Science disciplines. From the 51 proposals received, four missions were selected for flight. The initial flight missions described in this paper, in order of tentative launch date, are: the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX): the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS); the Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST); and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). Future NASA plans for the Small Explorer program include issuing an Announcement of Opportunity every few years and selecting only the investigations that can be launched within a three year period. Some enhancement of launch vehicle capability and certain procedural changes for mission proposals are also anticipated.